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Ehb
The Kingdom of Ehb is an independent country on the continent of Aranna. It lies to the west of the Plain of Tears. ' History Before Independence Ehb is, and always has been, the homeland of the Droog. They lived in relative harmony for centuries, occasionally encountering outsiders who wished to trade with them, including the renowned Agallan explorers, Fedwyrr and Klars. The most successful of these men and women was Etan Stonebridge, who arrived in Ehb in the late 590s, and quickly came to be on friendly terms with the native Droog, earning exclusive trading rights with them. The town of Stonebridge would later be named in his honor. By 604, the Droog elders began to suspect that the outsiders that came from beyond the borders of Ehb were not merely 'passing through', however. Indeed, the region had been named an imperial province, and more and more settlers were arriving by the day. Seeking to rid themselves of these interlopers, the cunning Droog set them against one another, sparking a two-year, three-way war known as the Green Range Conflict. Humans battled Goblins battled Seck, but, much to the dismay of the Droog, the forces of the Empire of Stars came out of the war in an even more powerful position than before. When the treachery of the natives was discovered, the victors forced the Droog to concede a major thoroughfare through their lands in exchange for semi-autonomy. Fortress Kroth was built at the northern end of this route in order to protect it from possible Droog aggression. The discovery of iron in the early 800s, located in the mountains of western Ehb, spurred imperial traders to push harder for Droog concessions in this region as well, and they too either perished, or were relocated to the Cliffs of Fire. However, trouble soon came to the mighty Empire. When the War of Legions broke out, the 10th Legion fled the chaos, and returned to their holdings in Ehb following an engagement with the 3rd Legion in the Aranoi Desert. After the defeat of the Seck in 845, Ehb was proclaimed a kingdom in its own right by the commander of the Legion, Karese Noanni. Calls were made for him to assume the throne, but he declined, saying that the new kingdom of Ehb would still need an army, and that he intended to lead it through the difficult times ahead. A monarch was elected, and the 10th Legion swore their undying fealty to them. The Kingdom of Ehb After gaining independence, Ehb knew many years of peace. Refugees fleeing the destruction caused by the First Cataclysm came in droves, finding homes in the newborn kingdom. They carried with them the faith of Azunai, which would spread, eventually becoming the major religion of the region. The first mages of the kingdom helped to construct Castle Ehb over the prison of the Seck, using a sorcerous delving machine that was later used to help create the Glitterdelve Mine, after gold and coal were discovered in the mountains. The construction of new fortifications began all across the land, with those at Frostspire Pass being completed in 935, replacing the much older Wesrin Cross to the south. The Crypt of the Sacred Blood was also built near Stonebridge in order to inter the remains of the fallen kings and queens of Ehb, as well as Azunite martyrs and heroes of the 10th Legion. Over the centuries, wealthy families would continue to add extensions to the crypt, until, eventually, it was considered unsafe to enter them. In 943, the Great Blast rocked the Glitterdelve Mine, burying priceless veins of ore, and destroying the delving machine used to excavate the tunnels. The death toll was great, but would have been higher if not for the heroism of the mule, Mags, who rescued several miners at the cost of her own life. Ehb's mining industry would slowly recover, with a system of magically-powered fans being installed to prevent another such catastrophe. In 965, Ibsen Yamas protected the town of Glacern from Goblin raiders, driving them back through Frostspire Pass after they tried slipping past the 10th Legion's fortifications and into the eastern kingdom. This was seen as a precursor to the Affair of the Goblin Pretender, which occurred soon after, in 970, after Prince Edvard was driven mad by Grand Mage Olvis. Ehb was very nearly plunged into a civil war. One of Olvis's apprentices, Merik, was able to put a stop to his former master's plans, however, and was promoted to Grand Mage of the 10th Legion as a result. In 1144, Grand Mage Merik disappeared while traveling through Fedwyrr's Way. As it was later learned, he had been ambushed by minions of the Goblin Inventor, who sought to use the Staff of Stars that the mage carried to take over Ehb. Unfortunately, without the Staff of Stars to empower them, the wards binding the Seck beneath Castle Ehb weakened, and the evil beings were eventually able to escape in what is known as the Seck Resurgence. Dungeon Siege One of the first signs of the Seck's return was a massive incursion of Krug into the lowlands. The dimwitted creatures pillaged the countryside in search of magical items, leaving devastation in their wake. The Krug even ransacked the well-fortified town of Stonebridge, putting much of it to the torch before being driven out by the legionnaires. A heroine arose from out of these lands. After an old friend named Norick died before her very eyes, this simple farmer set out for Stonebridge, in search of the one known as Gyorn. Venturing through the Crypt of the Sacred Blood, and rescuing a scribe named Ulora from the Krug, the farmer eventually arrived in town, finding the place in shambles. She was asked by Gyorn to inform the Overseer of Glacern, the retired Ibsen Yamas, of all that had occurred, but the path through the Glitterdelve Mine would require one to battle their way through the bulk of the Krug forces. With the help of several new companions, including a dwarf named Gloern, she did just that, braving the spider-infested ruins of Wesrin Cross, and the depths of the Glitterdelve to reach Glacern. The farmer informed Yamas of the Krug aggression, but the Overseer had even worse problems to deal with. He was already searching in vain for the missing Grand Mage, knowing well enough that his disappearance only a few months before was no coincidence; soldiers from over the mountains had also reported to him that things were even worse in the east, at Fortress Kroth. He told the heroes that if they ''really wanted to help, they'd reinforce the garrison there. Traveling into Fedwyrr's Way alongside the retired mage, Lorun, the farmer and her band found Merik frozen in a block of ice deep within the Alpine Caverns. Freeing him, the Grand Mage told them what had happened, and begged them to help him recover the Staff of Stars. Helping a number of Lescanzi travelers being harassed by bandits along the way, they entered the Eastern Swamp, where the lair of the Goblin Inventor was hidden. They successfully retrieved the Staff and continued on towards Fortress Kroth. They ventured through dangerous woodlands and the ancient ruins of a temple, but eventually emerged near the fort. They found it under siege by an army of undead and Droog, led by the necromancer known as Gresh. Gresh was none other than one of the ancient Seck, and turned out to be the one who had orchestrated the Krug attacks in the east as well, sending them out to find the Staff of Stars so that it could never be used to imprison his kind again. He welcomed the farmer and her companions as worthy foes, and, in the end, was defeated. As it turned out, scouts had spotted Seck in the woods weeks before Gresh's attack, but did not report their sightings out of fear that they'd be ridiculed. Captain Tarish was furious with his men for letting such concerns cause the deaths of no less than 182 of Fortress Kroth's legionnaires, but could do little now but rebuild. He asked the saviors of Fortress Kroth to continue south and to stop the Droog attacks, recruiting a few more companions in route, they eventually reached the Droog Village. The elder, Novataya, told them that the Droog sought redemption, and were forced to ally with the Seck or face extinction themselves, fearing the beast within Dragon's Rathe. Slaying the dragon and continuing on to Castle Ehb, the farmer and her band joined up with Lord Bolingar in order to rescue King Konreid from the dungeons. Konreid gave them permission to retrieve the blessed artifacts locked within the Chamber of Stars to use against the Seck leader, Gom. Equipped with these, the heroes defeated the god-king and ended the threat that hung over the kingdom. Geography Ehb is a widely diverse land. Temperate farmlands and forests in the southwest border with the foothills of massive mountains which, at higher altitudes become completely snow-covered. To the east, past the mountain ranges lies a dense, frigid forest which, to the south, gives way to a murky swamp. Further east of the swamp, the land becomes arid, and further travel east lies the Plain of Tears. This desert, covered in dry plateaus and seemingly fed by a single river is the home of the Droog, their cities sometimes built into the cliff-faces of the valleys. Southeast of here is a region of volcanic activity but once past there, the land becomes temperate again. In the middle of all of this land lie the various lakes and rivers which feed a massive estuary, making the country appear like a giant inverted 'U'. Government Ehb is a feudal monarchy, its king is named Konreid.''' Category:Locations